Jennifer Sher, Joey Franco Named Big West Scholar Athletes

Mar 08, 2012

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- Cal State Northridge student-athletes Jennifer Sher (women’s tennis) and Joey Franco (men’s soccer) were named
Northridge’s Scholar Athletes of the Year at the 2012 Big
West Conference Scholar-Athlete Banquet Thursday morning at the
Orange County Doubletree. Sher, a psychology major, was an All-Big
West First Team selection in both singles and doubles while Franco,
a finance major, also earned All-Big West honors and served as a
team captain during the 2011 season.

Junior defender Joe Franco has made an impact for the Matadors
both on and off the field since his arrival from Monrovia High
School in 2008. He has appeared in every possible game for
Northridge in his career (58 total) and has been a co-captain of
the squad the last two seasons.

“It is a tremendous honor for Joey and our program for him
receiving this honor,” said men’s soccer head coach Terry Davila. “He is everything you want
from a student-athlete.”

Franco was named All-Big West Conference Honorable Mention after
the 2011 season and has one goal and four assists for six total
points in three seasons with the program. In addition to captaining
the defense for the Matadors, Franco also spends time in the
community helping younger athletes realize their dreams of playing
at the next level.

“Joey is very important to our community as far as reaching
out to elementary and middle school students and is the hardest
worker in practice and in the classroom,” Davila continued.
“He is a high-quality kid and has had a positive effect on
our younger players to help us move forward.”

Franco scored the lone goal of his career in his first playing
season for the Matadors in 2009 against UC Riverside. In 2010, he
had an assist in CSUN’s upset victory at UC Irvine and also
had an assist in Northridge’s upset over UCLA for the
program’s first ever win at the home of the Bruins. Both UCI
and UCLA were ranked No. 7 in the country at the time.

Sher, a transfer from Concordia (CA), made an immediate impact
for Northridge on the courts for head coach Gary Victor.

Sher played primarily at No. 2 singles on the season and
finished her first year at Northridge with a 17-5 record. The 17
singles wins were the most by a Matador individual in 2011 and she
wracked up notable victories over Cal Poly twice, UC Davis, San
Diego State, UC Santa Barbara and LMU. Sher also earned Big West
Athlete of the Week honors twice during the season.

"Jennifer is a such a rare combination of a fantastic athlete
and a fun, humble and awesome teammate for this program," Victor
concluded. "She is the furthest thing from a diva and works hard
and represents us so well. She has tons of integrity and is so much
fun to be around for everyone involved in our program."

In doubles action, Sher teamed with Brooke Doane to form one of
the greatest doubles teams in school history. As a tandem, Sher and
Doane finished the season 16-2 with all of those decisions coming
at the No. 1 draw. The duo finished a perfect 6-0 against league
foes and posted notable victories over Arizona, Long Beach State,
San Diego State, Dartmouth, LMU and Cal Poly.

"I think Brooke and Jennifer will go down as one of the best
doubles teams in school history," CSUN head coach Victor stated.
"They represented us with such class. They were never close to a
bad call, didn't have any confrontations or any of the ugliness
that can be prevalent in college tennis."

This season, Sher has played primarily at the top draw in both
singles and doubles and has helped lead Northridge back into the
national rankings.

Off the court, Sher is an outstanding student who has maintained
a high GPA since coming over to America from her home of Hong Kong.
She expects to pursue graduate opportunities in the field once her
playing career is over. Her sister, Chloe, is a sophomore on the
women’s tennis team at Seton Hall University and the two have
talked about playing doubles together professionally.

"I've found that it is easier to balance the educational and
athletic demands in America than in Hong Kong," Sher
explained. "In Hong Kong, the educational demands are so
great that they sometimes take away from your training. But I had
always wanted to come to the United States and this is a great
learning experience that has helped me to become more
independent."